A sign advises employees they must be wearing masks at an employee entrance to Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Mission, on Friday, June 5, 2020. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees voted in late February 2022 to end the mask mandate on the reservation effective no later than Friday, March 11, at 4 p.m.

MISSION — The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees voted last week to end the mask mandate on the reservation effective no later than Friday, March 11, at 4 p.m.

The move came Monday, Feb. 28, the same day Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Oregon, California and Washington would lift mandates simultaneously at 11:59 p.m. March 11. According to a press release from CTUIR, the vote followed the recommendation of Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center as the public health authority for the tribes. And the mask mandate could end sooner if Yellowhawk gives the OK.

The board of trustees, however, split on the vote.

Board Vice Chair Aaron Ashley, Secretary Sally Kosey and members-at-large Toby Patrick, Boots Pond and Lisa Ganuelas voted in favor of rescinding the mask mandate, which has been in effect since Aug. 13, 2021.

Board Treasurer Sandra Sampson and member-at-large Corinne Sams voted against the polled resolution.

Sampson said she voted no based on the unavailability of vaccines for children age 6 months to 4 years.

“I wanted to see it extended to at least May 15 when kids have opportunity to get vaccinated,” she said. “They are our most vulnerable population when it comes to the omicron and delta variants of COVID. All of Eastern Oregon is still less than 49% vaccinated.”

The resolution ending the mask mandate states the board will continue to fund COVID-19 screeners to monitor for signs and symptoms of illness in the Nixyaawii Governance Center until April 29, but that date also could be subject to change. When the mandate ends, it will be at the discretion of each entity’s CEO or executive director on whether they choose to continue to require masks for indoor public use.

Interim-Deputy Executive Director Teara Farrow-Ferman provided the Confederated Umatilla Journal with a draft memo from the Office of the Executive that states: “The state will end their mask mandate on March 11, 2022, for indoor and outdoor public settings and schools, however, state and federal requirements, such as those for health care settings, public transit and other specialized settings, will remain in place for a period of time.”

Masks will remain required for indoor settings on Kayak Public Transportation and within the Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center.

Aaron Hines, Yellowhawk chief executive, did not have a firm date for when the indoor use mandate would be lifted at the clinic.

Board Chair Kat Brigham, who did not vote on the polled resolution, said in a statement: “I trust the removal of the mask mandate because it is based on good data and Yellowhawk’s consistency with the state. Masks will be removed, but please continue to follow the guidelines that continue to remain in place. If you would like to continue to wear your masks, we support you and your safety measures.”